Fabiana (plant)

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Fabiana
Fabiana patagonica - Berlin Botanical Garden - IMG 8764.JPG
Fabiana patagonica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Petunioideae
Genus: Fabiana
Ruiz & Pav.
Species

See text

Fabiana is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, native to dry slopes in western South America. [1] They are evergreen shrubs or subshrubs, [1] with needle-like leaves and profuse tiny tubular flowers in summer. The common name is false heath because the leaves superficially resemble those of the distantly related heaths. The species F. imbricata is cultivated as a common horticultural plant and a common herbarium specimen.

Contents

Distribution and habitat

Members of the genus grow within 16◦ and 51◦ latitude in the arid mountainous regions of South America between 1000–4900 m above sea level. [2]

Pharmacology

The genus Fabiana has been studied by ethnopharmacologists due to the use of extracts from species within the genus in traditional South American medicine. The plants are employed as an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory (through infusions and decoctions), as well as to set broken bones, using the resin exuded by the foliage and branches. European researchers have periodically studied the medicinal value of the plant since as early as 1877. [3] A range of current studies have validated the diuretic and anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant for Fabiana species including F. imbricataF. patagonica, F. punnensis, F. densa, and particularly, F. bryoides, which also inhibited spontaneous mutanogenisis in the bacterium Salmonella typhimumrium by up to 50% with no impact on cell viability. [2] [4] The foliage of F. imbricata, specifically has been traditionally employed as a diueretic and digestive and has been proven to have a dose-dependent gastroprotective effect, in studies evaluating the main sesquiterpene of the foliage. [4] Interest in F. imbricata has extended into the development of invitro culturing of the plant’s tissue for the harvesting of secondary metabolites for further research. [5]

List of species

The proposed number of species included in the genus Fabiana ranges significantly from 15 [2] to 36. [6] As of 2013 the USDA lists only the single type species within the genus in 2013. The USDA’s listing indicates lack of commercial interest in the genus, rather than any scientific consensus of species number. [7]

While the family Solanaceae has been well studied and documented overall, this research attention has not been applied uniformly amongst the genera. Genera such as Fabiana, with limited commercial or cultural agricultural value have been overlooked in detailed phylogenetic analysis.

Related Research Articles

<i>Antirrhinum</i> Genus of plants

Antirrhinum is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers or snapdragons because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are also sometimes called toadflax or dog flower. They are native to rocky areas of Europe, the United States, Canada, and North Africa. Antirrhinum species are widely used as ornamental plants in borders and as cut flowers.

<i>Prosopis</i> Genus of legumes

Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion developing extremely deep root systems. Their wood is usually hard, dense and durable. Their fruits are pods and may contain large amounts of sugar. The generic name means "burdock" in late Latin and originated in the Greek language.

<i>Chamaecyparis lawsoniana</i> Species of conifer

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus Chamaecyparis, family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to 4,900 feet (1,500 m) in the valleys of the Klamath Mountains, often along streams.

<i>Pseudowintera</i> Genus of trees

Pseudowintera is a genus of woody evergreen flowering trees and shrubs, part of family Winteraceae. The species of Pseudowintera are native to New Zealand. Winteraceae are magnoliids, associated with the humid Antarctic flora of the southern hemisphere. Horopito can be chewed for a hot, peppery taste.

<i>Saussurea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Saussurea is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae, native to cool temperate and arctic regions of East Asia, Europe, and North America, with the highest diversity in alpine habitats in the Himalayas and East Asia. Common names include saw-wort and snow lotus, the latter used for a number of high altitude species in East Asia.

<i>Solanum mammosum</i> Species of plant

Solanum mammosum, commonly known as nipplefruit, fox head, cow's udder, or apple of Sodom, is an inedible Pan-American tropical fruit. The plant is grown for ornamental purposes, in part because of the distal end of the fruit's resemblance to a human breast, while the proximal end looks like a cow's udder. It is an annual in the family Solanaceae, and part of the genus Solanum, making the plant a relative of the eggplant, tomato, and potato. This poisonous fruit is native to South America, but has been naturalized in Southern Mexico, Greater Antilles, Central America, and the Caribbean. The plant adapts well to most soils, but thrives in moist, loamy soil.

<i>Schizanthus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Schizanthus, also called butterfly flower, fringeflower, poor-man's-orchid, is a genus of plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helenalin</span> Chemical compound

Helenalin, or (-)-4-Hydroxy-4a,8-dimethyl-3,3a,4a,7a,8,9,9a-octahydroazuleno[6,5-b]furan-2,5-dione, is a toxic sesquiterpene lactone which can be found in several plants such as Arnica montana and Arnica chamissonis Helenalin is responsible for the toxicity of the Arnica spp. Although toxic, helenalin possesses some in vitro anti-inflammatory and anti-neoplastic effects. Helenalin can inhibit certain enzymes, such as 5-lipoxygenase and leukotriene C4 synthase. For this reason the compound or its derivatives may have potential medical applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferruginol</span> Chemical compound

Ferruginol is a natural phenol with a terpenoid substructure. Specifically, it is a diterpene of the abietane chemical class, meaning it is characterized by three fused six-membered rings and alkyl functional groups. Ferruginol was first identified in 1939 by Brandt and Neubauer as the main component in the resin of the Miro tree and has since been isolated from other conifer species in the families Cupressaceae and Podocarpaceae. As a biomarker, the presence of ferruginol in fossils, mainly resin, is used to describe the density of these conifers in that particular biosphere throughout time.

<i>Fabiana imbricata</i> Species of flowering plant

Fabiana imbricata, vernacular names pichi or false heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to dry upland slopes in the foothills of the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina. Growing to 2.5 m tall and wide, it is a frost-hardy, heath-like evergreen mound-forming shrub. It has needle-like leaves and small white, tubular flowers in early summer.

<i>Scaphyglottis</i> Genus of orchids

Scaphyglottis is a genus of orchids native to Mexico, Central America, northern South America and parts of the Caribbean. The current concept of this genus is the result of combining several genera which have been described at various times. The concept is characterized by the growth habit: not only are new pseudobulbs added at the base of the old ones, but new pseudobulbs also grow at the apices of the old ones. Many species are quite similar and difficult to distinguish, but some are clearly distinct. A few have showy colors. The genus comprises nearly 70 species.

<i>Barkleyanthus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Barkleyanthus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing the single species Barkleyanthus salicifolius, a plant formerly classified in the genus Senecio. It is native to North and Central America, where its distribution extends from the southwestern United States to El Salvador. Its common names include willow ragwort, willow groundsel, Barkley's-ragwort, and jarilla.

<i>Fabiana patagonica</i> Species of flowering plant

Fabiana patagonica is a species of plant in the nightshade family, native to Patagonia. This plant species is native to South America.

<i>Scopolia carniolica</i> Species of plant

Scopolia carniolica, the European scopolia or henbane bell, is a poisonous plant belonging to the family Solanaceae. It has dark violet flowers on long hanging stems. It grows to 60 centimetres (24 in) in height. Its toxicity derives from its high levels of tropane alkaloids, particularly atropine. The concentration of atropine is highest in the roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capnellene</span> Chemical compound

Capnellene is a naturally occurring tricyclic hydrocarbon derived from Capnella imbricata, a species of soft coral found in Indonesia. Since the 1970s, capnellene has been targeted for synthesis by numerous investigators due to its stereochemistry, functionality, and the interesting geometry of the carbon skeleton. Many alcohol derivatives of capnellene have demonstrated potential as a chemotherapeutic agent with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acylsugar</span>

Acylsugars are a group of plant-derived protective secondary metabolites that lack nitrogen. They typically consist of aliphatic acyl groups of low to medium chain lengths esterified to the hydroxyl groups of glucose or sucrose. Presence of such acyl groups gives these compounds hydrophobic properties. This group of compounds has been extensively studied in tomato and related species, in which these compounds are produced and secreted in sporadic amounts from trichomes on the plant leaf and stem surface. Production of copious quantities of these acylsugars give a sticky feel to the plant tissue. In particular, this flower has shown to distract herbivorous insect pests against thrips damage. It is believed that acylsugars provide physical and/or chemical defense to the plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solanaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco

The Solanaceae, or the nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petunioideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

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<i>Humbertia</i> Genus of plants

Humbertia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It only contains one species, Humbertia madagascariensisLam. It is native to Madagascar. It is known in French as bois de fer; it is endemic to southeastern Madagascar where it occurs in humid evergreen forests at altitudes up to about 600 m (2,000 ft).

<i>Alkekengi</i> Species of edible flowering plant native to Eurasia

Alkekengi officinarum, the bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, winter cherry, alchechengi berry, or Klabuster cherry is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a close relative of the new world Calliphysalis carpenteri and a somewhat more distant relative to the members of the Physalis genus. This species is native to the regions covering Southern Europe to South Asia and Northeast Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 Acosta, Cristina; del V Ordóñez, Adriana (2006). "Chromosome reports in south american nicotianeae (solanaceae), with particular reference to nierembergia 1". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 93 (4): 634–646. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.483.915 . doi:10.3417/0026-6493(2006)93[634:crisan]2.0.co;2.
  2. 1 2 3 Cuello, S.; Alberto, M.R (2011). "Comparative study of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and genotoxicity of alcoholic and aqueous extracts of four fabiana species that grow in mountainous area of argentina". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 137 (1): 512–522. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.06.005. hdl: 11336/52469 . PMID   21693175.
  3. Edwards, GR; Rogerson, H (1927). "The Constituents of Fabiana imbricata". Biochemical Journal. 21 (1): 10–4. PMC   1252012 .
  4. 1 2 Reyes, Maribel; Schmeda-Hirschmann, Guillermo (2005). "astroprotective activity of sesquiterpene derivatives from fabiana imbricata". Phytotherapy Research. 19 (12): 1038–1042. doi:10.1002/ptr.1784. hdl: 10533/176809 . PMID   16372369.
  5. Schmeda-Hirschmann, G; Jordan, M (2004). "Secondary metabolite content in fabiana imbricata plants and in vitro cultures". Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C. 59 (1–2): 48–54. doi: 10.1515/znc-2004-1-211 .
  6. "Genus: fabiana Ruiz & pav". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  7. "Fabiana". United States Department of Agriculture.